1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an article of manufacture which shelters and protects electrical connectors and adjacent cord from degrading environments, mechanical shocks and stress, and a method of protecting electrical connectors and adjacent cord using the device.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors used to terminate extension cords and the power cord connectors that are mated to them can suffer significant damage in use, especially in an industrial shop or construction environment. The cords can be damaged at the plug and socket connections by being accidentally over-tensioned (pull on excessively). Such damage can result in failure to maintain the electrical circuit connection or dangerously exposed damaged electrical cord and connectors. Protective enclosures are sometimes used to shelter connectors from effects of rain, snow and dirt, but those currently available do not provide the support and durability needed to protect from severe mechanical stresses including stress on the electrical cord and the cord-connector joint. Without an adequate means of containment and restraint of the cords adjacent to the connectors, they remain vulnerable to disconnection or degradation caused by stresses on the cords resulting from movement of the power tool or electrical appliance, or movement of the power cord due to contact with moving materials in a construction or shop environment. Without a means of enclosure that also protects from adverse dirty or corrosive environmental conditions the connectors are subject to electrical failures and degradation which also results in premature failure.
The electrical connectors can also vary greatly in size depending on the current capacity of the connector and whether it is constructed integral with the power cord, or is a replacement connector used to replace a damaged connector. Protective enclosures currently do not fit the larger replacement connectors, or if they do, they do not provide the support and durability needed to protect from severe mechanical stresses including stress on the electrical cord and the cord-connector joint.